Worse than a spider or a dog

After his earlier display of a "powerhouse's presence," General Ha lay on the ground like a dead dog, completely unable to move.

But the Divine Deer Pendant truly was dependable. Bathed in its golden-green light, General Ha, who had been in too much pain even to howl, underwent a rapid, dramatic change in expression.

First came gritted teeth, then relaxation, followed by blissful intoxication.

"Woo..." A few seconds later, General Ha's paws twitched, then his ears. Finally, he sprang to his feet, brimming with energy and excitement.

Back to full health!

"Awooo~~" General Ha excitedly danced with his tail swishing back and forth. Wonderful! From now on, he would eat an Energy Surge Fruit before every battle!

Lu Ran put away the reassuring Divine Deer Pendant. "All you think about is eating! Those cost Crystal Coins! How about some feedback? How did you feel? Did you remember... that sensation just now?"

"Woof!" General Ha furrowed his brow, closed his eyes, and carefully recalled it.

Hmm...

It seemed like the feeling of being blow-dried after a bath.

The next instant, sky-blue energy enveloped General Ha. Then something astonishing happened: the energy began trembling, growing increasingly wild. In a flash, it turned into a gale, flowing over his body just like the energy cloak from earlier!

General Ha abruptly opened his azure eyes. Energy Flow-mastered!

Lu Ran: ?

Meanwhile.

General Ha's Contract Card, which had just changed after his level-up, changed again!

[Species]: Snowfield Dog

[Attribute]: Wind

[Species rank]: Intermediate Extraordinary

[Growth level]: Level 5

[Skills]: Gale (a basic skill formed by Wind energy coating the body and flowing at high speed; increases attack, movement, and release speeds!), Sword Aura

"Holy crap, General Ha! You really are my best boy!" After watching General Ha's demonstration and noticing the changes to the Contract Card, Lu Ran froze for a moment, then erupted with joy.

He finally understood why his teachers had liked him so much.

Because he was a genius, incredibly smart, and could learn anything!

Now Lu Ran understood how his teachers had felt. His General Ha was just the same: whatever he wanted the dog to learn, the dog could master.

That feeling was simply fantastic. To Lu Ran, strong learning ability was far more satisfying than a pet beast's naturally powerful species.

"Awooo~~" General Ha wore a wise expression. What was so hard about it?

But in the next moment, that wise expression turned utterly horrified as Lu Ran hugged his head and planted a kiss on it.

"Woof, woof, woof, woof!!" General Ha broke free.

"Excellent! Keep it up!" Lu Ran was thrilled. Great-Gale and Sword Aura. General Ha now had two basic skills, one derived from Energy Flow, the other from the Windfall Sword and Energy Release...

Combining those two basic skills should produce an advanced skill, right?

Rapid-fire Sword Aura... Gale Sword Aura?

Lu Ran rubbed his chin and looked at General Ha. "Take a break. We'll practice on moving targets in a bit to improve your Sword Aura's accuracy."

"Woof!" General Ha remained unruffled. Wasn't that just Frisbee-catching practice? Essentially the same thing, right?

And just like that, a week passed!

For Lu Ran and General Ha, that week had undoubtedly been fulfilling yet monotonous.

But there was no question that they had transformed!

First, General Ha's growth level had reached level 6!

After some thought, Lu Ran concluded that General Ha's rapid advance to level 5 earlier had probably been thanks to the combined effects of the Wind Fruit and Energy Surge Fruit.

Energy Surge Fruits seemed capable of rapidly activating dormant potential and converting it into growth, while that dormant potential naturally came from the food resources consumed each day.

A week of top-quality food paired with four Energy Surge Fruits had given General Ha a respectable leveling pace. He had reached level 6 on the fifth day!

Though he had yet to catch up with the leading Fourth-Generation Beast Tamers in level, he was visibly closing the gap.

After reaching level 6, his physique grew stronger, and his body produced more Wind energy.

Most importantly, he looked even more magnificent and increasingly wolf-like. Clearly, General Ha had a very pure bloodline.

Meanwhile, consuming five Energy Surge Fruits had also deepened General Ha's understanding of Energy Flow. Compared with other Wind pets' Gale, he could make his own Gale more violent while keeping it under control. The price was merely a little damage!

Aside from that, there was nothing else. Although General Ha had excellent comprehension, Lu Ran had not rushed him into learning Energy Shaping and Energy Compression, instead having him perfect Energy Flow and Energy Release first.

Biting off too much meant mastering nothing.

For seven days, General Ha's daily routine began with wrecking part of the Training Secret Realm, leaving it in ruins with complicated terrain, then practicing agile Gale sprints through that terrain.

Then Lu Ran hurled stones to create moving targets for General Ha to practice his Sword Aura's accuracy.

Over the week, General Ha's use of both Gale and Sword Aura improved enormously. At the very least, Lu Ran was extremely satisfied.

That week, Lu Ran also rarely ventured out-or rather, barely went out at all. He ate and drank in the Exclusive Room because he, too, was absorbed in training.

While General Ha worked hard, he naturally did not sit idle. He kept strengthening his own physique by imitating General Ha.

He had not noticed much earlier, when little time had passed, but after a week of accumulated effort, Lu Ran's physical capabilities had doubled.

The stones he threw could easily travel two or three hundred meters at astonishing speeds. Even a casual jump had long since surpassed the world record, and a single punch should have been enough to kill a cow!

Holding the Wind-Slaying Sword, Lu Ran could enter an even more unusual state. His entire being became intensely focused, and his presence changed dramatically. Even General Ha looked extremely serious when sparring against him with a sword in his mouth, as though Lu Ran had become a ferocious beast that demanded caution.

That made Lu Ran feel he had seemingly grasped the basics of Super Beast Mimicry. In future Secret Realms, he would be better able to protect himself.

Yet none of those were Lu Ran's greatest gain. His greatest gain was progress in developing his intended Super Beast Mimicry 2.0.

Through their Telepathy connection, Lu Ran modeled Super Beast Mimicry and continuously conveyed his insights to General Ha. General Ha seemed to have begun pondering the ability Lu Ran possessed that resembled "sword intent," apparently a manifestation of mental and spiritual will.

Sword intent was the presence, spirit, and aura a swordsman expressed through the changing movements of a sword in hand.

Such presence truly existed and was particularly common in certain professions. A vicious bandit, for example, could frighten someone with a single glance. That was an immature manifestation of intent.

The old master who had once taught Lu Ran Swordsmanship had said that many great swordsmen in the past could develop sword intent, but in modern times, very few could wield it. Lu Ran had once asked whether the old master possessed it. The man had merely smiled and told him to work hard, saying that with his talent, he might master it someday.

Then, almost immediately afterward, Lu Ran had gone on vacation to Hawaii with his father to learn shooting, infuriating the old man.

Recalling that past experience, Lu Ran wondered whether learning Super Beast Mimicry had gradually brought his presence closer to that of a wild beast, which, combined with his sword moves, created a kind of beastly sword intent.

Whether that was the case no longer mattered. It was a good thing either way-he had grown stronger.

"That's enough for today!"

After a fierce clash with General Ha, Lu Ran tossed down the Wind-Slaying Sword and shook out his tingling hands as he spoke.

"Woof." General Ha nodded.

Lu Ran sparred with General Ha to help him practice controlling his strength.

Since even a slight mistake could injure Lu Ran, General Ha was exceptionally careful... His concentration reached 200 percent.

So, put bluntly... General Ha was Lu Ran's punching bag at those times.

"Let's go buy some food."

Lu Ran left the Training Secret Realm with General Ha, planning to head out.

Because... they had run out of food, and he intended to restock.

Although Lu Ran had originally bought half a month's worth of food for General Ha, they had actually eaten nearly all of it in just one week.

The reason was simple. While General Ha was eating, Lu Ran had been unable to resist trying a bite and discovered that it tasted pretty good.

So, to imitate General Ha more perfectly and develop Super Beast Mimicry, he had started eating the same food. It also saved him the trouble of finding his own meals-two birds with one stone.

Perhaps that was another reason Super Beast Mimicry had progressed so well?

Whatever the pet beast ate, the Beast Tamer ate! Eat together, sleep together, bathe together, train together!

Aside from putting on a husky costume and actually getting down on all fours to imitate General Ha, Lu Ran had done everything he could. That step... he felt that if he took it, even General Ha would look at him strangely. He simply could not endure that embarrassment.

Pig Farmer: [John Doe, boss, are you there?]

Before heading out, Lu Ran checked his messages. Lately, Fang Lan, his long-suffering older sister, had been handling outside matters for him, so they had been in frequent contact.

One practically lived in the Arena, while the other trained relentlessly in the Training Secret Realm-two completely different styles.

John Doe: [Need something?]

Lu Ran remembered that his last conversation with Pig Farmer had been when General Ha made the rankings.

Pig Farmer: [Well... my guild assessment is the day after tomorrow. Could you be my sparring partner? I'll pay. I can offer Crystal Coins.]

Pig Farmer's reasoning was simple. Lu Ran was an expert who had made the Divine Pet Rankings, and their levels were close, making him the ideal sparring partner.

[Well... couldn't you find opponents in the Arena?] Lu Ran replied.

[There's hardly anyone in the Arena's beginner section lately. Someone called the Five Poisons Cult Saintess hangs around there every day, and she's terrifying. I had rotten luck and got matched against her twice. Both times, my pig collapsed from poisoning. Afterward, I had to buy not just healing medicine but antidotes, too. The losses were awful. Like me, lots of beginners don't want to go there anymore.]

Lu Ran: "..."

[Huh? Is she that strong...?] Lu Ran enjoyed the show.

Pig Farmer was horrified: [Very strong! She's the one who knocked you off the Divine Pet Rankings. Didn't you know? She's already sixth now. Even pets at higher levels than her spider can't withstand her poison. Anyway, fighting her isn't very useful. There's no way the guild assessment will use Poison pets.]

Lu Ran was amused. He knew about that: Fang Lan had knocked him off the Divine Pet Rankings not long afterward and had even come to brag about it. But at the time, Lu Ran had been focused on training, and the rankings were still far from their settlement date, so he had not cared about his placement.

Still, that poisonous woman had already ground her way to sixth? It seemed he had underestimated that Color-Variant Wolf Spider.

Lu Ran: [Heh, so you can't beat a spider, and now you're challenging my husky... If you can't beat him either, wouldn't your boar be worse than a spider or a dog?]

Pig Farmer: [???]

How had he never noticed how sharp John Doe's tongue was? So losing meant getting kicked out of the idiom dictionary, too?